August 28, 2014

My knitting peeps are what you could call the good news, better news. We share, we laugh, we knit. We also share a love of all things crafty. Friend Kathy came in wearing a gorgeous peyote bracelet that looked like it was made with liquid silver and cobalt. S T U N N I N G is the only way to describe it. The lemmings – er – our knitting group glommed on and insisted that she share the pattern (Split Pea by Fusionbeads), technique, etc., which she and her sister graciously did.

Kim and I worked on little else while at knitting camp this year. We both finished our silver stunners shortly thereafter and continued with our new obsession:

The picture cannot capture the shimmer of the top bracelet. The little rosebud cutie helped me learn to read charts.

I am done with beading for the time being, though. It is really hard on my neck – it feels like someone stabbed me with an icepick.

PS1 — thanks, everyone, for your nice comments on my state fair entries! It means a lot to me.

PS2 – Several people asked me about the beads I used for the silver bracelet. The bracelet pattern is called Sweet Pea and is free from Fusion Beads — I added one extra line of beads so that the blue “dot” would not touch the 2-bead edging. This changed it to odd count peyote. The beads are Myuki Delicas, #11 seed beads. Colors are Trans Silver Lined Crystal (DB0041) and Iris Blue/Dk Blue (0006) from Artbeads.com.

August 24, 2014

Knitting peep Kim and I always attend the first day of the Minnesota State Fair (this past Thursday), and this year was no different. The day started with torrential rain, thunder and lightning (!). As I prepared to leave the house, I honestly thought we were nuts. However, by the time we got there, the rain had stopped and the weather was wonderful.

We timed it perfectly to be at the Creative Activities Center right as they opened the doors. It is always fun to see everyone’s entries. I must admit that I had the shock of my life.

When we entered the building, there was my Nightingale sweater, front and center wearing a sweepstakes ribbon! I have not yet posted about this project — keeping it under wraps since last October when I first cast on. It was a “holy grail” project, years in the planning/months in the knitting, and will get a post of its own when I pick it up from the fair (I forgot to take good pictures before I took it in!).

Next, Kim and I hunted for my Frosted Ferns — and discovered that it too had won the sweepstakes. Wow. I was stunned.

Elizabeth of York and my Raspberry Beret also took blue ribbons. I was surprised that my little hat did so well! And E of Y was so much work that I was really pleased it scored a blue. I also entered some other items:

Maestro in the upper right corner took 5th place — it looks like someone took it off, wadded it up and threw it onto a pile of other sweaters. Actually, it looks like my bedroom! Moving clockwise, my Ojo de Dios scarf took 2nd, and last was my Sweet-o-fude with a 3rd. I was very happy that they got ribbons.

It was very exciting to see that both Kim and Jimmy won ribbons for their creations. Kim made this gorgeous Christmas stocking for her new grandson, so it has very special meaning. Many of you will recognize Jimmy’s world famous DNA Sweater, which took 2nd place! Yay, peeps!!

What an amazing year. It is humbling and gratifying to get recognition for something that you love to do!!

PS – a friend alerted me to the fact that my sweater was shown on the local news in a story about the weirdest* contests at the fair. I think I should be insulted! 😉 You be the judge! My sweater is on for a mere flash at about the one minute mark.

August 20, 2014

I’m back from several weeks in Colorado and I finally have a finished project to share. This is one of those projects that should be photographed on a person instead of Lucy (shhhh — don’t tell her). It’s cute and fits me well. But I have no one around who can snap a photo so I apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures.

I showed you the beginning of this project back in June. It is Window to My Soul, designed by Joji Locatelli. If you want to make it, don’t worry. It isn’t that slow a sweater to knit; I’ve been working on other projects (knitting and non-knitting) so it took me longer than it should have. The yarn is Madelinetosh Pashmina in the color Coustea. The color is almost impossible to capture. It’s much more vibrant and striking than it looks in these photos. The buttons are by the Glass Pens company. I bought them a number of years ago at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival and have been waiting for the right project for them.

I made no modifications to this pattern other than deepening the armhole slightly and lengthening the bodice by an inch or two.

August 9, 2014

A palette cleanser, this little project! I am getting ready to launch my Scatness Tunic which will take forever: tiny yarn, lots of stitches. So, I knit up this little hat to be able to finish something this century!

It is called Very Pretty Lace Beret by Vera Sanon. I used some Sun Valley yarn that I had in stash but had already rolled into a ball – no band to be found!! I don’t know exactly what it is but I bought it last winter. It is incredibly soft and the color is very pretty. My daughter said it is one of the fashion colors this year. 🙂

I changed the ribbing so that it flowed into the patterning. It really bugs me when the ribbing looks disconnected. I like the lace — looks like a Japanese stitch pattern.

I did cast on the Scatness while this was drying. Ho hum. I am already slightly bored with it. 🙁 Not a good sign!! But I really would like to wear it this fall, so I will plug away on it. I am also chipping away at Laura’s dark blue Hito.